Improving our Response to Sexual Assaults

Department of Justice: Missoula "A Model for the Nation"
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for Montana announced in a press conference in Missoula on May 11, 2015, that the Missoula Police Department has implemented all the reforms in its response to sexual assaults mandated by the Department of Justice in just two years.

“In short, this community has come together to institute long-term, systemic change to protect and ensure the safety of generations to come, and we are here to acknowledge that and to celebrate that,” said Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, who traveled to Missoula from Washington, D.C., for the announcement.

In May 2013, the Police Department entered into a 2-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve the manner in which it conducts sexual assault investigations. Some of the key facets of the agreement were to improve training, policies, community partnerships and transparency of our efforts in compliance with the agreement. Additionally, we agreed to oversight of our compliance by an Independent Reviewer and to publish the reviewer's quarterly reports for our citizens to track the progress of our achievements. Those reports and the terms of the agreement can be found below -

We've recently completed an update (posted 11/18/2014) and review of our department's sexual assault policy. You can view that specific policy here. You can always view any of our department's policies online. Go here for the entire policy manual.
TrainingSince we've entered the agreement, Missoula Police Officers have attended 5,861 hours of training in sexual assault-related courses. If you would like to see the entire breakdown, here's the latest spreadsheet.